Kevin De Bruyne: Standards at Aston Villa different to Manchester City
Manchester City star Kevin De Bruyne believes former Aston Villa captain Jack Grealish is held to different standards at his new club.
Since his £100million move to Manchester City in 2021, Grealish has struggled for consistent game time, and has been criticised by many for failing to live up to his price tag.
The former Villa star made the England squad this month despite performing poorly in Pep Guardiola’s side, and his City teammate De Bruyne suggested that it’s because he’s under far more pressure to win with the reigning champions.
“If you set certain standards for yourself, everyone is going to measure you to these standards,” said De Bruyne, as quoted by the Birmingham Mail.
“With all due respect, he was at Villa before and if you lose a game sometimes it is not the end of the world. But if we lose a game it is different.
“We have to perform every week and win games.”
Disrespectful
De Bruyne’s comments are made in an attempt to defend Grealish from critics, but the harsh truth is that he’s failed to impress at City and his move didn’t work out as he had planned.
The club’s expectations have nothing to do with it – players at Villa are under just as much pressure to win and perform, and there was arguably more expectation placed on Grealish at Villa Park when he was the club’s standout player.
Grealish has gone from a well-respected Premier League star to just another member of City’s star-studded squad.
His place in the England setup shows his decline too – heading to the Euro’s back in 2021, Grealish was viewed by most fans as England’s star player. Now? He’d be lucky to make Gareth Southgate’s starting XI.
Grealish’s decline since moving to City has nothing to do with either club’s “standards”, and more to do with the player looking a shell of his former self.
In other Aston Villa news, Lucas Digne has been drafted into the France squad to replace Theo Hernandez